Light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) are ubiquitous in electronics. They are used in digital displays, lighting systems, computers, televisions, cellular telephones, and a variety of other devices. Developments in LED technology have led to methods and systems for the generation of white light using one or more LEDs. Developments in LED technology have led to LEDs that generate more photons and thus more light than previously. The culmination of these two technological developments is that LEDs are being used to supplement or replace many conventional lighting sources, e.g., incandescent, fluorescent or halogen bulbs, much as the transistor replaced the vacuum tube in computers.
LEDs are produced in a number of colors including red, green, and blue. One method of generating white light involves the use of red, green and blue LEDs in combination with one another. A lighting source that is made of combinations of red, green, and blue (RGB) LEDs will produce what is perceived as white light by the human eye. This occurs because the human eye has three types of color receptors, with each type sensitive to either blue, green or red colors.
A second method of producing white light from LED sources is to create light from a single-color (e.g., blue), short wavelength LED, and impinge a portion of that light onto phosphor or similar photon conversion material. The phosphor absorbs the higher energy, short wavelength light waves, and re-emits lower energy, longer wavelength light. If a phosphor is chosen that emits light in the yellow region (between green and red), for example, the human eye perceives such light as white light. This occurs because the yellow light stimulates both the red and green receptors in the eye. Other materials, such as nano-particles or other similar photo-luminescent materials, may be used to generate white light in much the same way.
White light may also be generated utilizing an ultraviolet (UV) LED and three separate RGB phosphors. Additionally, white light may be generated from a blue LED and a yellow LED and may also be generated utilizing blue, green, yellow and red LEDs in combination.
Current industry practice for construction of LEDs is to use a substrate (typically either single-crystal sapphire or silicon carbide), onto which is deposited layers of materials such as GaN or InGaN. One or more layers (e.g., GaN or InGaN) may allow photon generation and current conduction. Typically, a first layer of gallium nitride (GaN) is applied to the surface of the substrate to form a transition region from the crystal structure of the substrate to the crystal structure of doped layers allowing for photon generation or current conduction. This is typically followed by an n-doped layer of GaN. The next layer can be an InGaN, AlGaN, AlInGaN or other compound semiconductor material layer that generates photons and that is doped with the needed materials to produce the desired wavelength of light. The next layer is typically a P doped layer of GaN. This structure is further modified by etching and deposition to create metallic sites for electrical connections to the device.
During the operation of an LED, as in a traditional diode, extra electrons move from an n-type semiconductor to electron holes in a p-type semiconductor. In an LED, photons are released in the compound semiconductor layer to produce light during this process.
In a typical manufacturing process, the substrate is fabricated in wafer form and the layers are applied to a surface of the wafer. Once the layers are doped or etched and all the features have been defined using the various processes mentioned, the individual LEDs are separated from the wafer. The LEDs are typically square or rectangular with straight sides. This can cause significant efficiency losses and can cause the emitted light to have a poor emission pattern. A separate optical device, such as a plastic dome, is often placed over the LED to achieve a more desirable output.
In many LED applications, it is desirable to maximize visible light output for a given power input, a quantity often expressed in lumens per watt (lm/W) for white light, or milliwatts per watt (mW/W) for shorter wavelength light such as blue. Existing LED technologies may attempt to increase this ratio, typically referred to as “overall efficiency” or “wall-plug efficiency.” However, existing LED technologies still suffer poor overall efficiency and low extraction efficiency.